Isaac Hannon was in a "zone.

Wednesday, February 09, 2000

Isaac Hannon was in a "zone." Jason Harmon was in a league of his own. Hannon’s shooting and Harmon’s all-around play sparked the Ironton Fighting Tigers to a 71-63 win over the South Point Pointers Tuesday.

Hannon had a game-high 25 points including 6 of 8 from 3-point range. Harmon had 14 points, six rebounds, nine assists, and four steals.

"I just felt great. It was one of those nights when you get in that rhythm and nothing can stop you," said Hannon. "We worked the ball good, we passed well, and we took good shots and didn’t force shots. Everyone contributed tonight."

Harmon’s contributions left South Point coach Mark Lafon shaking his head.

"He took over the game the second half," Lafon said. "(Justin) Eaches really didn’t do a bad job on Harmon, but no one stepped up and helped. We did what everyone else in the gym was doing, watching Harmon play. We just stood the second half."

South Point (6-11) rallied from as many as 12 points down the first quarter to take a 30-28 halftime lead. But Harmon began penetrating, dishing, stealing, and scoring the second half as he scored 12 of his 14 points.

"We did what we need to do," Ironton coach Chris Barnes said. "We finally hit the open shots consistently, and Jason Harmon did a great job distributing the basketball.

"Josh Harmon and Drew Mains did a great job on the boards. And I thought we got some valuable contributions from Ryan McClellan, Chris Frazer, and Jimmy Peyton."

Josh Harmon had 16 points and a game-high 11 rebounds as Ironton held a commanding 35-20 rebound advantage. Mains finished with a solid game as he scored six points, pulled down a career-high nine rebounds, and had four steals.

South Point was led by Shane Holsinger with 17 points. Jarred Perdue had 15 points and five rebounds, B. J. Ferrell 13 points, and Willie Anderson came off the bench to score 10.

Hannon hit three 3-pointers the first quarter including one with a minute left that put Ironton up 23-11. A 3-pointer by Holsinger made it 23-14 at the end of the quarter.

Ironton’s shooting went south the second quarter. The Fighting Tigers (5-10) made only 2 of 13 shots and scored just five points.

Anderson had six points in the stanza, the final two on foul shots that gave South Point a 30-28 halftime lead.

The lead changed hands six times to begin the second half until a 3-pointer by Hannon at the 4:35 mark put Ironton up for good at 41-37.

Josh Harmon followed up a missed shot before Holsinger’s 3-pointer got South Point within 41-40 at the 3:53 mark.

Josh Harmon, McClellan, and Jason Harmon all made layups as Ironton went on a 6-0 run and Jason Harmon’s layup with one second left put the Fighting Tigers in front 53-44.

A layup by Jason Harmon and moments later his free throw extended Ironton’s lead to 65-49 with 4:33 to play.

A layup by Brian Cremeans and back-to-back 3-pointers by Ferrell got the Pointers within 65-59 and just 2:08 to play.

Frazer and Hannon each sank a pair of foul shots over the final 1:01 to seal the win.

Ironton was just 12 of 22 from the line, but 9 of 16 the fourth quarter when the Pointers were forced to foul.